Homeland Security secretary named University of California president

July 13, 2013

Janet Napolitano

Janet Napolitano, the U.S. secretary of Homeland Security and former governor of Arizona, has been selected as the next president of the University of California system. [LATimes]

Napolitano’s appointment is the first time in its 145-year history the 10-campus system will been headed by a woman. It is also unusual to have a politician selected for an appointment generally given to an academic.

UC officials believe Napolitano’s experiences in disaster responses will help UC administer its energy and nuclear weapons labs and to get federal funding for research